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Welcoming the weekend with fresh baked Cinnamon Sugar Brown Butter Popovers. Better known as the simple, 8 ingredients, melt in your mouth popovers, that are roll your eyes back GOOD! These cinnamon sugar popovers are light and airy, hinted with vanilla, stuffed with cream cheese (if you’d like), and delicious. Serve these popovers warm right out of the oven, dipped in nutty browned butter, and rolled (generously) through sweet cinnamon sugar. Like a doughnut…but better. Perfect for all of the spring weekends ahead.
Who else is so happy the weekend is here? I think we can all agree that some baking in the kitchen this weekend is truly what we need most. Times are without a doubt a little stressful for everyone these days. But, looking on the bright side of things, if there was ever a time to stay home and cook and bake in the kitchen it’s now. I mean, right?
Yes, yes. YES.
Thankfully for you all, I have ALL the recipes…and I’m keeping them coming. If you have any requests, please leave them in the comments. If not, I have ideas! For today however, I’m taking us back to our childhood days with cinnamon sugar. These popovers are truly the best kind of feel-good comfort food. They remind me of my dad’s cinnamon toast, but feel just a bit more “adult” or elevated.
And oh my gosh.
These popovers are GOOD. Think light and airy, but extra buttery, and perfectly sweetened with cinnamon sugar. And? They can be stuffed with cream cheese (if you’d like) because, why not? It’s the perfect combo.
The Story.
I created this recipe before I left for LA last week. After a day of not one, not two, not three, but four recipe failures. When I came up with this idea, I immediately knew I had to create the recipe. The idea of a popover tossed in browned butter and then rolled through cinnamon sugar just sounded way too good to my exhausted mind.
I mean what part of that could not be good?!
So I pretty much stopped what I had previously been working on and instead got to work creating this recipe. Less than an hour later I had these pretty, cinnamon sugar-coated popovers in front of me…and as cheesy as this sounds, I was in love.
For one, thank God I had a recipe that not only worked, but also tasted great, and looked good. And two, these just bring back all the best childhood memories for me. Even just looking at them makes me happy. I hate to be overly cheesy, but I’m just telling it like it is.
Bottom line? These are easy. And these are GOOD…and they taste like cinnamon sugar doughnuts…but better.
Here is how to make these very best popovers.
The first step, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Popovers rise a lot so it’s important to give them room! Now, add a pat of butter to each popover cup and then place the pan in the oven to preheat. Heating the popover pan ensures the popovers will pop in the oven. This is the 6 cup popover pan that I have and love. Here is the 12 cup popover pan if you want to double the recipe.
Alternately, you can bake the popovers in a regular size 12-cup muffin pan. For this particular recipe, I actually really enjoy the mini popovers versus the larger popover size. Of course, both are great, but if you want to keep it simple, just use your 12-cup muffin pan.
OK, next, mix up the batter, which is a basic mix of milk, flour, and eggs. BUT it’s made special with a splash of vanilla extract. Add the batter to the hot popover pan, then add one cube of cream cheese to the center of each popover. Is this needed? No, not at all, so if you don’t enjoy cream cheese just skip this. If you do enjoy cream cheese, DO THIS. It’s extra delicious and a little indulgent. Nothing wrong with that. It’s Friday and we could all use a little comfort food this week!
Now bake. About forty minutes later (twenty minutes if you’re baking the minis) you’ll have these popovers. And yes, your kitchen will smell amazing.
The brown butter + cinnamon sugar…
Both very much needed ingredients to complete these popovers.
Take a good amount of butter and brown it on the stove. If you’ve never browned butter, today is the day. Like right now. It’s warming, it’s nutty, and it truly makes every food it touches better.
Now, take the browned butter and brush it over the warm popovers. Next, take the popover and generously roll it through the cinnamon sugar…
Mouth is watering!
Sorry, cheesy, but I mean, you agree, right?
I hope so because I really cannot stress enough just how roll your eyes back good these popovers are. This is one of those recipes that you’ll look forward to making every chance you get. These popovers are warming, cozy, and so easy to make. Serve them for weekend brunch, then save the leftovers as a weekday on-the-go breakfast/treats/snacks. Or work them into your upcoming Easter and Mother’s Day menus.
You can’t go wrong.
Please do make these, and soon, I know you guys will love them. And trust me, they’ll free you of all your worldly stresses.
If you make these cinnamon sugar brown butter popovers, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Cinnamon Sugar Brown Butter Popovers
Servings: 6 large or 12 mini
Calories Per Serving: 529 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 teaspoons + 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk, at room temperature
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into 6 to 12 cubes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- 1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 2. Place 1 teaspoon of butter in each cup of a 6 cup standard popover pan. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup muffin pan and make 12 mini popovers. Transfer the pan to the oven 3-5 minutes before baking to melt the butter and heat the pan.3. In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the milk and eggs until frothy, about 1 minute. Add 1 tablespoon melted butter, the vanilla, flour, and salt. Whisk to combine. It's OK if there are small lumps. 4. Carefully remove the popover pan from the oven and swirl the butter around the cups to grease the pan. Evenly divide the batter between the popover cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. If using, push 1 cube of cream cheese into the center of each popover. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake another 15-18 minutes, until puffed, golden and crisp. If using a muffin pan, only bake 15-18 minutes total at 450. 5. To make the brown butter. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown until it smells toasted and is a deep golden color, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the butter to a heat-proof bowl. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. 6. Brush each warm popover with browned butter, then roll (generously) through the cinnamon sugar. Enjoy warm.
Notes
Storing: store in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature.
To Bring Eggs to Room Temperature: place the eggs in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let sit 5 minutes.
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
Popover Pans: this is the exact 6 cup popover pan that I have and love. Here is the 12 cup popover pan if you want to double the recipe.
Muffins Pans: this is the exact 12-cup muffin pan that I have and love.
My first recipe from half baked harvest…was so nervous because this was part of our Easter brunch in quarantine. They were soooo good I ate 3?…highly recommend ❤️❤️❤️
Wow I am so glad you decided to try these and they turned out so well! Thank you Elizabeth! xTieghan
Loved it. So easy to make and delicious! I made 6 in a larger muffin pan. I tried it with and without the cream cheese and for whatever reason I actually preferred it without. But that’s just me. Will definitely keep this in my recipe box. Nice to change it up and super easy with ingredients already in the pantry.
Thank you so much Alice!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I followed this recipe to a T. Used a muffin pan and included the optional cream cheese. After taking them out of the oven I barely brushed them with more butter before rolling in cinnamon/sugar mixture. They were good right out of the oven but the next days and days following that they were like sponges. Dripping in liquid (butter?) every time we picked one up. The consistency was literally like a wet sponge. Any tips or ideas of what went wrong?
Hi Emily,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, I am sorry you had issues with the popovers. Next time I would recommend storing these in the fridge for best results. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Tieghan
I made these as part of our Easter Brunch and I cannot describe how fabulous they taste…simply AMAZING!!
Thank you so much Elizabeth! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made these for Easter breakfast and will definitely make them again! Easy and so delicious! Warm cinnamon and sugar they were a Family favorite ❤️
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Laura! xTieghan
Hi!
I’m on a quarantine baking kick ( who isn’t ?)
Would the recipe really suffer if you didn’t heat the balance of the butter and brush the popovers ?
Like just take them out of the oven and roll them in cinnamon without the added butter ?
Thanks !
Hi Steph! It will not stick as well, but they still should taste amazing! I hope you love these! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I misread the recipe and put a tablespoon of butter in each popover cup and the butter bubbled out of the pan making a smokey mess! But overall they were good. They were a little eggy in the middle and my cream cheese was just a lump in the middle, is this normal? What did I do wrong!?!
Delicious Easter morning treat!
I am so glad you enjoyed this Jane! Thank you! xTieghan
Does the muffin pan have to be metal? I have silicone ones.
Hi Danielle! I would recommend metal, but I am sure it will work great in silicone as well! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
These were so tasty and easy to make! I don’t own a popover pan and didn’t want to make bigger ones in a 12 cup muffin pan so I used a 24 mini muffin pan and used a tablespoon cookie scoop for the tins. They puffed up and were crispy and soft! The cream cheese kind of disappeared in the few popovers I put it in, but I may not have used enough since I cut it back. My husband would like to eat them all. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Julia! I am so glad these popovers turned out so well for you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
My husband said this was the best recipe I have ever made from this website! The popovers were a perfect treat made of ingredients that are common in our house, so we didn’t have to go to the store, which is ideal right now. We didn’t have cream cheese so we used ricotta, but I am excited to try it with cream cheese once we make it to the store for more ingredients.
Wow yes!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you Meagan! xTieghan
Would you think it’s okay to make the batter the night before and maybe just let it sit at room temp for a while before baking the next morning? Can’t wait to try, thanks!
Hi Jess,
Yes that should be okay! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! I am not sure what I did wrong but my popovers did not turn out very fluffy. They were quite dense. I used a stand up mixer and then put the batter in the popover tin. Do you think the whisk of the stand up mixer was too strong or what do you think I did wrong? Thank you! I was hoping to make these for Easter brunch.
Hi Ashley,
So sorry you had issues with the popovers. Yes I don’t think using the stand mixer is necessary, just using a whisk and lightly whisking together is all you need. This will help keep the popovers light and fluffy. Also, be sure to heat your popover pan in the oven first. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Ummmmm YES! These are so easy and unbelievably yummy! The entire plate was inhaled in less than 24 hours. I don’t know the differences between the tins but I imagine that you could make any one of them work for this recipe. Thank you for sharing!! I see another batch in the near future!
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this one, Christie! I hope you continue to love recipes you try of mine! xTieghan
I made these today and followed the recipe to a T. I used a traditional 6-tin popover pan. Mine came out very eggy and dense in the middle, not flaky and hollow like a normal popover… wondering if you have any idea about the eggy-ness? Thanks!
Hi Lisa,
So sorry you had issues with the popovers. Did you adjust the recipe at all? Also it is super important that you heat the popover pan before starting the recipe this will ensure that the popovers really “pop” in the oven. I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan